The Roommate by Kiersten Modglin (best way to read books .TXT) 📕

Tick, tick, tick.

Chapter Nineteen

When I awoke, I was naked and cold. I looked down at my bare body, laying on top of the sheets. I jerked upright, looking around the room. The door to the bedroom was cracked, but Stephanie was gone.

When had she left?

Had it all been a dream?

I stood up and flicked on the lamp on my bedside table, searching for my boxers. I found them at the foot of the bed and pulled them on quickly. Then, I looked around the room with one eye closed, still half asleep.

Where was my phone?

I spied it sticking out from under the bed and picked it up. It was nearly three in the morning, and my battery was on twelve percent. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, trying to make sense of my screen as I simultaneously tried to plug it in. I had three missed calls and a voicemail from my boss.

Before trying to return his call at such a late hour, I pressed the button to play the voicemail and listened carefully.

“Wes, hey, it’s Stewart. I’m sorry to call so late. Listen, the venue for the platinum party for Layla has had a plumbing leak, and they aren’t going to be able to have it fixed in time for the party tomorrow night. I know it’s last minute, but your house has always been such a nice space for entertaining. I’ll be out of town, so I can’t have it at mine. Is there any way you could throw something together quickly? If not, I need you to find a new venue today for me. I know it’s tough, but I’m sure you can do it. Anyway, I’m about to board a flight, so I won’t be available until tomorrow afternoon. I’ll call to check in then. Remember, the party’s supposed to be at nine. Once you get everything in order, just give the details to Rodney, and he’ll make sure the right people know. Thanks a million, Wes.” The voicemail ended, and I stared at my screen. He’d left the voicemail at just past eleven the night before, which meant the party was that evening. I had no house, a broken heart, and a huge problem.

Jumping into action, I grabbed my laptop from its bag on top of the dresser and began searching for venues. It was a much-needed distraction from the current inner turmoil I was dealing with.

I called every single place around town, including several restaurants. Most places didn’t answer, and wouldn’t for several hours, and the ones that did, didn’t have any space or availability to throw together a last-minute party.

I needed to know how many people to expect, and Rodney wasn’t answering my calls. I’d estimated around one hundred and fifty, as that was about typical for one of our celebrations, but if I severely over or underbooked, it could end up a disaster.

My heart raced as I searched for answers, jotting down notes. Who was the caterer? Who was in charge of decorating? Was the label delivering the award, or did I need to arrange for it to be picked up? I needed to speak with my boss, but he was somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean with no means of communication for the next several hours. There was no way I was going to call Addy to ask about using the house.

Not a chance in hell after the fight we’d just had, and especially if it would mean facing her after what I’d done… I forced the thought away. It was too painful, which meant I had to figure something else out.

And I would, even if it took all morning.

By six, that seemed to be exactly what was going to happen, as I was quickly running out of options. When I heard footsteps padding across the hardwood floor, I wished I’d shut the door, but it was too late. Elias was standing in my doorway in a matter of seconds, wearing boxers and a white T-shirt. He yawned, rubbing a fist over his eyes.

“What’s going on? Did I hear you talking?”

“Sorry, I was on the phone. I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“It’s okay. I thought you might be looking for Stephanie. She left for her shift a little after midnight.”

“Oh,” I said, not realizing he’d known she’d stayed over. I assumed he knew the rest of it, too, but I wasn’t going to ask. To my relief, he didn’t seem as though he was planning to tease me or make me feel guilty about it.

“Are you all right?”

I didn’t know if he was talking about because of Addy, or Stephanie, or because I was up and on the phone at six a.m. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little stressed. Work emergency,” I said, looking back at my screen.

“Anything I can help with?”

“Not unless you happen to have an in with a venue on the shortest notice possible.”

“What sort of in?”

“We had an issue with a venue for a party that’s supposed to be tonight, and I’m supposed to reschedule it and shift everything to a new location by nine o’clock, ideally in time to get the new details out to everyone. Only problem is, everything’s booked all across town. Even the bingo hall said no.” I gave a sarcastic groan. “My boss wants me to do it at my house, which I ordinarily would, but I can’t face her right now.” I didn’t need to explain whether that was because of our fight or because of what I’d done, and it was a good thing, because I didn’t know the answer. “I have no idea what I’m going to do.” I ran my hands through my hair feverishly.

“I actually might have something that will work,” Elias said, drawing my attention back to him.

“You do?”

“I’ll have to call and check, but you remember me saying my friend owns this building? Well, it’s actually Garth. And, if I’m not mistaken, there’s